Vegan Bean Étouffée

Swap out the smoked meats and seafood usually found in Creole rice stew for this vegan bean étouffée loaded with spice, beans and liquid smoke.

I’m all about making a big pot of something delicious for the week. My husband, Bill, will take leftovers for lunches, I’ll use it on nights when dinner prep is lacking. Hey it happens to me too! To optimize this recipe, and boost up the protein substantially, I used quinoa instead of rice as the base layer. Easy swap but substantial benefits for recovering muscles.

A friend of mine shared the inspiration for this recipe with me a few weeks ago from this cookbook. After testing it a few times, I tweaked it and amped up the flavor. I’m planning on making this dish a lot during the cooler months of fall and winter. I cannot wait!

Turn the machine off. Add the following ingredients: broth, beans, tomatoes, liquid smoke and seasonings. Stir well to combine. Place the lid on and lock. Turn the venting knob to sealed. Press the manual button and set the time for 16 minutes. The machine will turn on automatically. Allow the machine to naturally release once done cooking. This takes around 11 minutes.

Once done, open the lid carefully. Taste test and add salt and pepper as needed. Place a bed of rice or quinoa on the bottom of each plate and top with your beans. Garnish with cilantro. Serve.

Robin Runner is the blogger behind www.kneadtocook.com. She grew up around two of her greatest inspirations, her Italian grandmother and her aunt. Both believed in farm to table foods, purity in nature and love as the main ingredient for anything on their menu. Today, Robin is a strong advocate of farming and buying local ingredients, as well as composting to help repurpose food scraps into rich soil for our garden.